Diego
Diego was a saber-tooth cat that was part of a herd of animals after living out a number of experiences that united them all. Initially a remorseless hunter in a pack of other sabers, Diego was to deliver a human baby to his pack leader, Soto, as revenge upon the humans. During his interception of the child, Diego met a mammoth named Manfred and a sloth named Sid, who had already taken the child and, in time, convinced the saber to leave his old pack and join up with them as part of their herd. Some time later, Diego and his herd resided in a valley that would soon flood over, due to the large amounts of melting ice. As the herd journeyed along with the other herds of animals, they met a female mammoth named Ellie, who lived with her adopted possum brothers Crash and Eddie. Manny, through Sid's urgings, took Ellie as a wife, making her and her possum brothers new members of the herd. Within time, Diego grew upset with his complacent life in a herd, having lost his edge as a hunter and so considered leaving his herd behind, rejoining them as they went out on a search for Sid, who had taken three dinosaur eggs as his adopted children. After time, Diego stayed with his herd and returned to their own world. Years later, Diego remained a member of his herd and stayed with them through it all, though he, along with Manny and Sid, was separated from their herd as ongoing continental drift divided them, the four going on to meet a group of animal pirates, and among them was a female saber named Shira that caught Diego's eye. In time, Diego convinced Shira to leave her pirate crew-mates behind and join Diego's herd as his girlfriend when the herd left their old home to find a new one due to the continents shifting. Biography A gruff saber-toothed cat, Diego had a change of lifestyle, leaving the pack he once ran with to join a ragtag herd of animals. Through this, Diego learned to be caring, gentle and not as quick to anger. Early Life As a cub, Diego was brought up in a pack with other sabers, including his father. Diego's father, being an adept hunter, would bring back a gazelle for Christmas as a feast for the whole family. Revenge At some juncture in the past, a pack of humans had attacked Diego's pack, taking the lives of half of them so as to use their skins to fashion warm clothing. Soto, the pack leader, was driven furious by this, choosing to exact revenge by killing and devouring the pack leader's baby, Roshan. Diego, being appointed Soto's lieutenant, agreed to assemble the pack for an oncoming attack at dawn, also motivated by revenge. That evening, the others in the pack, Zeke, Lenny and Oscar, all balked at their leader's fixation with the human pack, wondering why they could not follow the animal herd migrations heading south, but Diego asserted his leader's decisions, despite his pack-mates deriding him for it, asking why they couldn't take orders from Soto himself. Soto then appeared, asserting that they followed Diego's orders because Diego was the only saber that Soto trusted. Soto maintained that the attack on the humans would give them all a chance to teach the humans a lesson. Attack Early the following morning, Diego and the others formed an attack plan on the humans' camp. Personality and Traits As a saber-tooth cat, Diego was made for action, with a usually curt demeanor: short for words, Diego was not one to be trifled with. Initially a sharp hunter and a harsh speaker, Diego's demeanor softened as he joined a herd with Manny and Sid. Loyal to the herd, Diego was always one to step in and take action, but did not appreciate being made light of: Sid would often joke with him, to Diego's displeasure, but Diego would never attack anyone. Though Diego lived with other herbivorous animals, he curbed his natural instincts as a hunter and lived in peace with other animals. His composure, however, was shaken when he met Shira, who caught his eye and won him over. Diego was built like other sabers, with a compact, muscular build and powerful running legs, retractable claws on all four paws, a short set of ears and tail, and, most notably, his set of long canine teeth, with which he once hunted other animals. Diego's pelt was burnt orange with a lighter underbelly and light facial fur, and with a short brown mane along his neck and upper back. Diego's eyes were vivid green and were ideal for hunting or looking out at night, as in the darkness they would glow brighter like other cats' eyes. Appearances *''Ice Age'' **''Ice Age (video game)'' *''Ice Age: The Meltdown'' **''Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (video game)'' **''Ice Age: The Great Escape'' *''No Time for Nuts'' *''Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'' **''Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (video game) '' *''Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas'' *''Scrat's Continental Crack-up'' *''Ice Age: Continental Drift '' **''Ice Age: Continental Drift (video game)'' Behind the Scenes Diego was voiced by actor Denis Leary in the films and by Rick Pasqualone in the third Ice Age video game. The initial plan with Diego was that he would die in the first Ice Age film: when younger test audiences saw this, they burst into tears, and so the directors decided to let Diego live. References Category:Saber-tooth cats Category:Male Category:Characters in Ice Age Category:Characters in Ice Age: The Meltdown Category:Characters in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Category:Characters in Ice Age: Continental Drift Category:Featured